Making introductory quantum physics understandable and interesting

Pieter Kok

Charles Baily

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this notoriously difficult task may be frustrated by the intuitively realist perspectives of introductory students, and a lack of ontological flexibility in their conceptions of light and matter. We have developed a framework for understanding and characterizing student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics, and demonstrate the differential impact on student thinking of the myriad ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. Like expert physicists, students interpret quantum phenomena differently, and these interpretations are significantly influenced by their overall stances on questions central to the so-called measurement problem: Is the wave function physically real, or simply a mathematical tool? Is the collapse of the wave function an ad hoc rule, or a physical transition not described by any equation? Does an electron, being a form of matter, exist as a localized particle at all times? These questions, which are of personal and academic interest to our students, are largely only superficially addressed in our introductory courses, often for fear of opening a Pandora's Box of student questions, none of which have easy answers. We show how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the University of Colorado) may positively impact student perspectives on indeterminacy and wave-particle duality, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme of our course, but also by making the beliefs of our students, and not just those of scientists, an explicit topic of discussion.

Pieter Kok

Charles Baily

A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this notoriously difficult task may be frustrated by the intuitively realist perspectives of introductory students, and a lack of ontological flexibility in their conceptions of light and matter. We have developed a framework for understanding and characterizing student perspectives on the physical interpretation of quantum mechanics, and demonstrate the differential impact on student thinking of the myriad ways instructors approach interpretive themes in their introductory courses. Like expert physicists, students interpret quantum phenomena differently, and these interpretations are significantly influenced by their overall stances on questions central to the so-called measurement problem: Is the wave function physically real, or simply a mathematical tool? Is the collapse of the wave function an ad hoc rule, or a physical transition not described by any equation? Does an electron, being a form of matter, exist as a localized particle at all times? These questions, which are of personal and academic interest to our students, are largely only superficially addressed in our introductory courses, often for fear of opening a Pandora's Box of student questions, none of which have easy answers. We show how a transformed modern physics curriculum (recently implemented at the University of Colorado) may positively impact student perspectives on indeterminacy and wave-particle duality, by making questions of classical and quantum reality a central theme of our course, but also by making the beliefs of our students, and not just those of scientists, an explicit topic of discussion.

Stephen Bruce Sontz

Antje Kohnle, Derek Jeffrey Raine

In December 2013, the Institute of Physics (IOP) launched a set of freely available resources at quantumphysics.iop.org for the teaching and learning of quantum mechanics. The website includes about 80 short articles written by experts in the field and 17 interactive simulations with accompanying activities for an introductory course in quantum mechanics starting from two-level systems. The articles are arranged according to five themes, including a focus on quantum information, interpretations of quantum mechanics, the mathematical structure of the theory, physics applications and historical experiments. The resources make topics such as entanglement, hidden variables and quantum information theory accessible to introductory-level students. They can be used flexibly for a variety of instructional aims at both the introductory and more advanced level. The website includes links to pre-readings, suggestions for further reading, a glossary of technical terms and allows users to rate their understanding of articles.Sharing of these resources is encouraged, with all usage under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND licence. Solutions to problems and activities are available for instructors by emailing quantumphysics@iop.org. Instructors interested in evaluating these resources with their students in order to help us further develop and optimize the site are requested to contact the corresponding author.